Elgin Employment Numbers

The table below shows annual data that was released last week. The COVID pandemic period that began in the U.S. officially in March 2020 had a substantial impact on the labor force as some 22 million jobs vanished and was combined with the steady, continued exodus of 79 million baby boomers out of the labor force. COVID accelerated the decrease in the participation rate drop in the workforce to 60.1% in April of 2020 which was the lowest level since the 1970’s. The table below shows how Elgin’s labor force has bounced back and has been able to maintain its strong position in Kane County. Kane County’s labor force had a peak number of 286,581 people in the workforce in July 2019 and has fallen to 271,862 at the end of February 2026, while Elgin remained stable.